Tour Rehearsals to take place at Nassau Coliseum
According to Long Island and New York City newspaper Newsday, Madonna will take over the Nassau Coliseum arena beginning Monday to build a massive stage and set for her upcoming world tour. Under an agreement reached this week, employees and the artist’s road crew will occupy the Uniondale arena through late May, the source said. Madonna is expected to appear for rehearsals and show preparations, though there are no plans for her to perform publicly at the arena.
Officials with Philadelphia-based SMG, the management company that runs the arena, did not return calls for comment. Coliseum employees will be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement prohibiting them from publicly discussing the arrangement.
Cash-strapped Nassau County, which owns the Coliseum but does not collect revenue directly from arena shows, will not receive any funds from the Madonna contract. Revenue will go to an entity controlled by SMG. Charles Wang, owner of the Coliseum’s major tenant, the New York Islanders hockey team, participates in the arrangement, the source said. Wang did not return calls for comment.
Madonna’s camp declined to comment about where she would be rehearsing for the tour. However, music industry sources say that she is headed to the Coliseum from late April until mid-May.
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said that while he couldn’t confirm the arrangement with Madonna, the Coliseum stimulates the local economy “by having dollars spent and respent here in Nassau.”
From NewsDay.com.
